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league and predecessor Sima Qian when he characterizes him as adhering to one theory of time cycles? In order to fi nd a reliable answer on this, we shall have to scrutinize more closely Sima Tan’s and Sima Qian’s professional engagement. Sima Tan’s and Sima Qian’s share in Emperor Wu’s new sacrifi ces The fact that Emperor Wu started to put his ceremonial reform into practice almost immediately after Gongsun Qing had appeared at court and introduced his prophetic message to the emperor was more than Gongsun Qing’s personal triumph. It was at the same time the fulfi llment of a hope that many high dignitaries at court had long cherished. One of those who certainly shared this hope – even though he should perhaps not be reckoned among the high dignitaries – was Sima Tan. 58 Sima Tan served Emperor Wu in the position of a taishiling��, a title which might best be rendered as “Director the Grand Scribe.” 59 It is emphasized in the last chapter of the Shiji that Sima Tan died in the year 110 B.C., shortly before the emperor performed the Feng and Shan sacrifi ces on Mount Tai for the fi rst time. As Sima Qian reports, his father became ill – supposedly during the time he was traveling in the imperial entourage – and thus had to stay behind. Sima Qian must have visited his father shortly before he died, since we learn from the Shiji record that Tan, when he lay on the point of death, grasped his sons hand and with tears beseeched him: 258 DOROTHEE SCHAAB-HANKE �� “Our ancestors were Grand Scribes for the house of Zhou. From the most remote times on, [our clan] had a good reputation and at the time of Yu of Xia [we] were in charge of the affair of the Offi ce of Heaven. In later ages [our clan] declined. Will it end with me? After you in turn will have become Grand Scribe, you must continue the work of our ancestors. Our present Emperor will pick up the thread of a tradition of a thousand years; 60 he [thus] will perform the Feng sacrifi ce on Mount Tai, but I won’t have the privilege of accompanying him there. Oh, that’s fate! Such a fate! After I am dead, you will become Grand Scribe in turn. When you are Grand Scribe, do not forget what I hoped to expound and write about!” 61 These few lines strongly convey the impression that the Feng and Shan sacrifi ces of 58 As we shall see presently, Sima Tan in his offi ce as a taishi had an income of 600 dan (bushels) which seems to have been that of an average court offi cial. 59 Hans Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times (Cambridge: University Press, 1980), 9, 19 et al., translates the title as Prefect Grand Astrologer. Hucker, Dictionary of Offi cial Titles, no. 6218, renders the title with regard to the Han period simply as Grand Astrologer. As I will argue below, neither title is adequately rendered in translation, given the many functions of this offi ce in the lifetimes of Sima Tan and Sima Qian. 60 As for the obvious allusion here made to a thousand-year-cycle, compare the remark quoted by Sima Qian from the mouth of an “ancestor” or “predecessor” (xianren��) which has been plausibly interpreted by the Zhengyi commentator Zhang Shoujie (8th cent.) to be Sima Tan’s words. In the statement, two successive 500-yearcycles are referred to, one starting from the death of the duke of Zhou up to Confucius, the second starting from Confucius’ death up to “today” (jin��). See Shiji 130/3296. It seems as if Sima Tan adheres to a theory which is already refl ected in the Mengzi. For an analysis of the meaning of the cycle of fi ve hundred years in the Mengzi see my study on “Ein Philosoph in der Krise? – Meng Ke und die Zeitenwende,” Bochumer Jahrbuch zur Ostasienforschung, vol. 24 (2000), 113–32. 61 Shiji 130/3295. BMFEA 74 · 2002
Emperor Wu – the feng shan matter (feng shan� shi� ��), as it is called several times in the Shiji, 62 – must have been an event of utmost importance in the life and thinking of Sima Tan. The expression jie qiansui zhi tong�� (to pick up the thread of a tradition of a thousand years) is strongly reminiscent of the prophecy spread by Gongsun Qing, according to which during the reign of Emperor Wu the astral confi gurations of Huangdis time would recur. But what exactly did Sima Tan – as far as his offi cial duties were concerned – have to do with time cycles and with the Feng and Shan sacrifi ces? To answer this question, we must take a closer look at the duties related to a taishiling, the offi ce Sima Qian followed his father in three years after his death. 63 The preface to the “Tables of the Hundred Offi cials, Dukes and Ministers” (Baiguan gongqing biao��) of the Han shu offers only a laconic listing of the title taishi among others. 64 More information about the offi ce of the taishiling can be obtained from the “Monograph on the Hundred Offi cials” (Baiguan zhi��) in the Hou Han shu��: �� The Director the Grand Scribe: one person [at a time], six hundred bushels [income]. The Original Note 65 says: “He is responsible for the [fi xing of the beginnings of the] seasons and for the calendar of the stars. 66 Toward the end of the year, he submits the new annual calendar to the throne. For state ceremonials, such as sacrifi ces, burials or marriages, he is responsible for submitting to the throne the auspicious days and those to be avoided. In case there are portents, such as calamities or unusual events, he is responsible to record them.” 67 62 Cf. Shiji 12/473; 28/1382, 1397 (2 occurrences); 30/1438; 117/3063. 63 Shiji 130/3296. Gu Jiegang �� in a study fi rst published in 1963 emphasized the importance of distinguishing Sima Tan and Sima Qian as two different authors who both contributed to the Shiji. See his “Sima Tan zuo shi ��,” in: Shiji yanjiu cuibian ��, ed., Zhang Gaoping �� et al. (Gao xiong: Fuwen, 1992): 81–88. 64 Han shu 19A/726. 65 As for what is called benzhu (Original Note) here, Liu Zhao �� in his Zhubu�� (Commentarial Supplement) to the Xu Han shu�� upon which the zhi�� part of the Hou Han shu is based, explains that at the beginning of the Baiguan zhi�� (“Monograph on the Hundred Offi cials”) this refers to the commentary which was already contained in the Xu Han shu and which he compared with the commentary written by Ying (Shao) �� (ca. 168–197), i.e. the Hanguan jiuyi�� (Ceremonials of Han Offi cials). See the commentary to Hou Han shu��zhi 24/3556. See also Mansvelt Beck, The Treatises of Later Han: Their Author, Sources, Contents and Place in Chinese Historiography (Leiden: Brill, 1990), 224, who supposes that Sima Biao by composing his notes relied on the Han jiuyi by Wei Hong (1st cent. A.D.). 66 As we shall see below, the peculiarity of the new calendar of the Han consisted in bringing solar and lunar cycles into harmony. This is precisely what an astronomical calendar has to accomplish. 67 Cf. the parallel account from Han jiuyi, quoted in Taiping yulan 235/3b. The Tang commentary to the Hou Han shu adds a quotation from the Hanguan (jiuyi), which gives more details on the many fi elds of competence which were, in late Han times, assigned to the offi ce of the taishiling. I render here the paraphrase given by H. Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, 22, replacing only the title Grand Astrologer by Grand Scribe, following the order of the text account and rendering the transcriptions in Hanyu pinyin: His staff consisted of 37 Expectant Appointees of the Grand Scribe [taishi daizhao], of whom 6 were Calendarists [zhi li], 3 Diviners by the Tortoise Shell [gui bu], 3 Directors of Buildings [lüzhai], 4 Experts in the Phases of the Sun [ri shi], 3 Diviners by the Book of Changes [Yi shi], 2 Directors of Sacrifi ces to Expel Evil Infl uences [dian rang], 3 Experts in the Traditions of Masters Ji [Ji shi], Xu [Xu shi], as well as Masters Dian and Chang [Dian Chang shi] respectively, altogether 9 [representatives], 2 Specialists of Methods [jia fa], two Supplicants for Rain and 2 Elucidators [jie shi] respectively, and 1 physician [yi]. �� ” BMFEA 74 · 2002 THE POWER OF AN ALLEGED TRADITION 259
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Page 3 and 4: grand ceremonial reform: his name i
Page 5 and 6: Hall of Light (mingtang��) w
Page 7 and 8: had ordered a single tripod to be c
Page 9 and 10: anew. On hearing these words, the Y
Page 11 and 12: and inscriptions. 41 Gongsun Qing c
Page 13 and 14: the Shiji continues, trembled with
Page 15: ning, to alter the beginning of the
Page 19 and 20: establishment of two new cults, or,
Page 21 and 22: ecorded to have been excavated at t
Page 23 and 24: itly mentions his personal share in
Page 25 and 26: haps the most striking detail is th
Page 27 and 28: Summarizing the professional duties
Page 29 and 30: The third of them - Sima Xiangru’
Page 31 and 32: The name Suo Zhong, which we have m
Page 33 and 34: mountain. And fi nally, there are a
Page 35 and 36: esponsibility for the bold steps wh
Page 37 and 38: In Chapter Two, “Annals of the Xi
Page 39 and 40: a memorial to the emperor charging
Page 41 and 42: dragons whiskers and Huangdi’s bo
Page 43 and 44: One is even inclined to say that Si
Page 45 and 46: References Bielenstein, Hans. The B
Page 47 and 48: In Di san jie shixue guoji yantao h

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